It’s finally started getting colder outside, and my husband and I have been experimenting with our heating unit. Since we live in a caravan (read: little insulation), getting through the winter requires a careful combination of sweaters, heating, hot water bottles, morning cups of tea, and evening bowls of soup.

This minestrone is the heartiest, most filling soup I know. With pasta, beans, and vegetables, it’s practically a meal by itself. That’s what I did one night this week, actually: Put the pot on the table and called it dinner. And if I do say so myself, it worked out well.

Don’t get carried away, though. A week or so after our wedding, we had my father, sister, and brother for the Friday night seudah. I had recently made this minestrone for the first time and figured they’d love it. They did — but a bowl of this plus challah, plus the main course, plus dessert is really too much.

As the winter approaches, cook up a pot of this for your family. It’s wonderful to come home to at the end of the day, and leftovers make a great lunch.

I’ve been experimenting with tomato juice + water (you can find the juice sold by Prigat and others), and it’s much better like that. I’ve been changing other things, too, though, so I might post a separate minestrone instead of updating this one.